I feel that Groupthink is one of the main reasons which hampers optimal decision making, especially in the defence services which have a highly regimented way of thinking.

Here is an abridged version of one of my lectures which tells you all about GROUPTHINK in a nutshell:

GROUPTHINK

Tradition has it that conflict is bad.

Conflict is something to be avoided.

The culture of many organizations implies explicitly or implicitly that conflict should be suppressed and eliminated.

It is common for managers to perceive intra-organizational conflict as being dysfunctional for the achievement of organizational goals.

Most of us still cling to the idea that good managers resolve conflict.

Current thinking disputes this view.

In the absence of conflicting opinions, harmonious tranquil work groups are prone to becoming static, apathetic and unresponsive to pressures for change and innovation.

Work Groups and Teams, even Top Management, also risk the danger of becoming so self-satisfied, that dissenting views, which may offer important alternative information, are totally shut out.

In short, they fall victims to a syndrome called “GROUPTHINK”

In a study of public policy decision fiascos, I.L Janis identified “GROUPTHINK” as a major cause of poor decision making.

As he describes it:‘groupthink’ occurs when decision makers who work closely together develop a high degree of solidarity that clouds their vision, leading them to suppress conflicting views and negative feelings about proposals, consciously or unconsciously.

A manifestation of the groupthink phenomenon is the staggering irrationality which can beset the thinking of the otherwise highly competent, intelligent, conscientious individuals when they begin acting as a group or team and this affects organisational effectiveness.

EFFECT AND SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK

The net effect on the group is that it overestimates its power and morality, it creates pressures for uniformity and conformance, and its members become close-minded, living in ivory towers. Some manifestations are the illusions of invulnerability and the encouragement to take great risks and to ignore the ethical or moral aspects of their decisions and actions.

This author has witnessed close-mindedness on the part of several managers which then permeated their teams.

One project manager took this to the extreme and in effect defined his environment as consisting of two kinds of people, either "friends" or "enemies".

This syndrome is akin to the dialogue from the classic Movie Ben Hur which I call the:

“you are either for me or you are against me”syndrome

Like this Manager I observed, many persons, especially some of my bosses, exhibit this syndrome.

Friends were people who completely agreed with his favoured solutions and supported his project. All others were enemies.

Soon his entire project team was echoing similar sentiments having fallen victim to “GROUPTHINK”, resulting in unbending positions, heated arguments and subsequent lack of respect for anyone who disagreed with them. The ultimate consequences can easily be guessed.

The symptoms of groupthink include:

(i) An illusion of invulnerability that becomes shared by most members of the group.

(ii) Collective attempts to ignore or rationalize away items of inconvenient information which might otherwise lead the group to reconsider shaky but cherished assumptions.

(iii) An unquestioned belief in the group’s inherent morality, thus causing members to overlook the ethical consequences of their decisions.

(iv) Stereotyping the dissenters as either too evil for negotiation or too stupid and feeble to merit consideration.

(v) A shared illusion of unanimity in a majority viewpoint, augmented by the false assumption that silence means consent.

(vi) Self-appointed “mind-guards” to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decision.

Not very surprisingly it has been suggested that individuals most susceptible to groupthink will tend to be people fearful of disapproval and rejection and who want to “conform”.

Conversely, an outspoken individualist who freely airs his views and opinions, if trapped in a groupthink situation, runs the risk of being ejected by his colleagues if he fails to hold his tongue.

GROUPTHINK SITUATIONS

THE DOMINANT LEADER

Firstly, because the CEO [or the “Boss”] dispenses all favours, his biggest problem is to avoid being treated like God. Secondly, the “Boss” must avoid thinking that he is God.

Indeed, in many organizations, it is not easy to contradict or argue too vigorously with the boss.

Even when managers feel that they know more than a superior, they may suppress doubts because of career considerations.

Fear, respect for authority, and even admiration for the boss, may make sceptics hesitate when confronted with a confident CEO or dominating superior.

This is less of a problem if the leader acts in the organization’s interests, possesses requisite soft skills, and has strong ethics and cognitive capabilities to make decisions.

However, if a leader does not force serious questioning, he or she will sometimes make mistakes and errors of judgement.

Colleagues and subordinates will become “yes-men”, and groupthink will take over decision making.

And the dominant CEO may not discover his or her mistakes because fearful employees withhold information.

What can lower-level managers do about the boss who has lost touch with reality and seems to be driving the organization in the wrong direction?

One can adopt three different strategies:

(i) “Exit” (Leave the organization)(ii) “Voice” (attempt to force changes from within)(ii) “Loyalty” (accept things the way they are)

Each individual can evaluate the risks and benefits of each strategy.

However, if the organization is really on the wrong track, true loyalty requires an attempt to communicate one’s reservations and concerns to the leader.

How can a confident, independent CEO avoid the pitfalls and temptations of absolute power?

The obvious (but difficult) answer is to make sure that power is never absolute, and surround oneself with other confident, independent people, and encourage dissension and debate on every decision.

In his autobiography ‘A Soldier’s Story’ General ON Bradley has exemplified this aspect in the decision-making style of General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff of the US Army in World War II, a dominant leader who was instrumental in the Allied Victory owing to his resolute management of the entire war effort.After one week in office, General Marshall called all his staff officers to his office and admonished them: “Gentlemen, I am disappointed in you. You haven’t yet disagreed with a single decision I have made. When you carry a paper in here, I want you to give me every reason you can think of as to why I should not approve it. If, in spite of your objections, my decision is still to go ahead, then I’ll know I am right.”

General Marshall did not believe in Groupthink but wanted to hear different and contrarian views before taking a decision. Rather than search for views that might reinforce his own, a CEO should seek contrary opinions to avoid groupthink. Some suggest using a devil’s advocate methodology for all major decisions by assigning some individuals in all groups and teams to argue against the dominant view.

PARALLEL POWER

This is a “groupthink” situation in which individuals or groups low in the hierarchy are powerful enough to do what they want, even when contrary to organizational objectives.

Such power may be based on specialized expertise or privileged access to information.

Parallel power can lead to groupthink in two ways.

Firstly, senior managers may accept ideas from lower-level managers that are not necessarily in the organizational interest, either because they have insufficient information to ask the right questions, or because opposition would not seem legitimate.

Secondly, top managers may make decisions without all the necessary information because subordinates do not provide it due to vested interests arising from misplaced loyalties to a limited function, department or team, rather than to the organization as a whole.

Such situations can be mitigated by ensuring that managers rotate between different units and positions.

NATURAL UNANIMITY

When everyone in power instinctively shares the same opinion on an issue, the wise manager should be wary.

Natural unanimity groupthink results in an inward-looking organization detached from its environment.

Escape from this predicament almost certainly requires a fresh perspective that can come only from outside, by hiring new managers or appointing outside consultants.

A CEO may lay overemphasis on staff – line cooperation in the belief that the easiest way to ensure implementation is to recommend only those actions that the line managers agree with.

But this is not necessarily useful to an organization and may lead to mutual admiration and, ultimately, “natural unanimity groupthink”.

The effectiveness of staff - line dichotomy depends on maintaining a certain tension between the staff and the line managers.When the tension disappears, the staff may not be doing its job.

CONCLUSION

The key element in any strategy for avoiding groupthink is to instil checks and balances into the system. Formally, this can be achieved through cross-functional teams, staff advisers, external consultants, or procedures like “devil’s advocacy”.

Informally, managers must learn to tolerate dissidence, criticism, contrary opinions, discussion, brainstorming and debate and encourage their colleagues to express doubts about proposals. Propositions from various parts of the organization need to be treated transparently, equitably, and consistently, to avoid groupthink.

In a nutshell, for effective decision making, steer clear of yes-men, ego-massage, sycophancy and groupthink.

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

This story is for parents, teachers, mentors, especially those who want to achieve their own unfulfilled dreams, unrealized desires and unrealistic ambitions vicariously through their children and protegees.

Such people put a lot of pressure on children and drive the poor kids and overwhelm them with high expectations.

Everyone wants their children to stand first and everyone wants to WIN - in the rat race to success there is no place for LOSERS or even those who come second.

In the competitive world of today we all adopt the “winner takes all and loser is left standing small”philosophy of life.

This story is also for those perfectionists, at the workplace and at home, who expect everyone to be perfect like themselves and this quest for perfection makes everyone’s life hell…

Most importantly, this story is for you and me, for all of us, who want to be winners…

Read on…

The Story of the Cracked Pot

A water bearer had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot always arrived only half full.

For two years this went on daily, with the water bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, fulfilled in the design for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was unable to accomplish what it had been made to do.

After two years of enduring this bitter shame, the contrite cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream, “I am ashamed of myself and I apologize to you.”

“Why are you feeling so guilty, so penitent, so repentant …?” the water bearer asked the sad cracked pot, “Tell me, dear pot, what is it that you are so ashamed of…?”

The cracked pot said full of remorse: “I feel sorry that for these past two years I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do extra work and you don't get full value from your efforts.”

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and was consoled somewhat.

But at the end of the trail, the cracked pot still felt remorse, shame and a feeling of guilt because it had leaked out half its water load.

And so again, the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the cracked pot:

“Did you not notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, and not on the other pot's side…?

That is because I have always known about your flaw and I took advantage of it.

I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we've walked back from the stream, you've watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table.

Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty, these lovely flowers, to grace his house.”

Moral of the Story:

There are no winners and there are no losers – everyone is a winner in his or her own way.

Each of us has our own unique flaws.

We all are cracked pots.

But it is the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding and make you unique.

You must consider each person for what he naturally is, and look for the good qualities in him.

Every person is useful to society in his own way just like the cracked pot was useful in its own way.

Most importantly, you must look for the winner within your own self, maybe hiding deep inside you.

If you introspect you will realize that you are a winner in your own way.

So don’t compare yourself with others and don’t pay any heed to what other people say.

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Disclaimer: I am a simple end-user novice and not an expert in Real Estate and these are my personal views. Please take my views with a pinch of salt and take your own views into consideration before you make any property decisions.

There are many factors you consider while buying a house, in particular when selecting the location of your home.

I am sure you take into account various exoteric aspects like:

1. Class and Type of Locality (Status Value, Snob Appeal and Standard of Living Factors)

2. Amenities, Facilities and Social Infrastructure (Quality of Life Factors)

3. Connectivity and Proximity to your Workplace, Children’s Schools, Marketplace, Closeness to Residences of Relatives and Friends, Public Transport and Commuting Time (Convenience Factors)

5. Reputation of the Builder and Developer and Quality of Construction (Reliability Factors)

6. Architectural and Design Facets (Aesthetic Factors)

In addition to various exoteric factors, you may also consider some esoteric concepts like Vaastu Shastra and Feng Shui.

But tell me, do you think of POLLUTION when you buy a house?

Health is more important than Wealth.

And pollution can affect your health.

You can earn back lost money.

But if you lose your health it is lost forever.

So while financial aspects like property rate and appreciation prospects are important, you must factor in the pollution aspect as well while making property buying decisions, especially if you are an end-user and from the long term perspective.

TYPES OF POLLUTION TO BE CONSIDERED WHILE BUYING A HOUSE

There are 9 types of Pollution you must consider while buying a home:

1. AIR POLLUTION

2. WATER POLLUTION

3. SOIL or LAND POLLUTION

4. NOISE POLLUTION

5. ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION or ELECTRO-POLLUTION

6. THERMAL or HEAT POLLUTION

7. LIGHT POLLUTION

8. OLFACTORY POLLUTION

9. VISUAL POLLUTION

In a nutshell, let us see the sources and effects of each of the above types of Pollution relevant to the context of residential property.

1. AIR POLLUTION

Air pollution can be in the form of particulate matter such as dust or in the form of gases and vapours.

In cities, Vehicle Exhaust is the major cause of air pollution. With ever-increasing traffic, Diesel, Petrol and Gas Fumes are densely prevalent in urban areas.

Dust and Debris from ongoing construction work is a major source of air pollution especially in the newly developing suburbs of a city where extensive new construction, redevelopment or infrastructure building activity is in progress.

Air Pollutant Gases and Vapours may be present near Industrial Areas, Manufacturing Units, Distilleries, Chemical Factories, Steel Plants and Oil Refineries and even near places like crematoriums, brick kilns, Garbage Bins and Rubbish Dumps, Solid Waste Processing Units etc where items are burnt.

Air Pollution can seriously affect health, especially in children, causing and exacerbating various ailments, especially lung diseases and asthma.

2. WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution involves contaminated water, whether from chemical, particulate or bacterial matter that degrades water quality and purity.

When buying a house you must check up the source of water supply.

Is properly treated water from the municipal water treatment plant being supplied to the building?

Or is water being sourced from bore-wells or some other place.

I have read some news reports that in Pune, there have been cases where possession of houses has been given much before or even without the connection of safe and treated potable water from the municipality.

In cases where the water is sourced from local or underground water bodies, soil pollution, infectious organisms and organic material decay may cause water pollution.

Water Pollution can also be caused by defects in plumbing (where sewage or contaminated water seeps into potable water lines).

The effects of water pollution on your health can be quite severe and cause diseases like jaundice.

Water pollution can cause severe damage to the health of your family, especially children.

Electromagnetic Pollution or Electropollution is a relatively new form of pollution.

Electropollution occurs due to Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) from various sources like Mobile Cell Phone Towers, Electricity (HT) Power Lines, Radar, Microwave and Various Communication Lines and Transmission Antennas that are proliferating in urban areas which create Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) around your house.

Ongoing studies indicate that Electropollution may be hazardous to health in many ways.

In the past, most transmission antennas were located outside the city limits far away from human habitation, but nowadays with the expansion of cities and due to modern wireless communication needs like mobile phones, internet and wi-fi we live in an increasingly “wired world” and have transmitters all around us.

The least you can do when you buy a house is to look around and see whether there are any Mobile Phone Transmission Towers, Transmitting Antennas or HT Power Pylons and Electricity Transmission Lines nearby.

6. THERMAL or HEAT POLLUTION

Thermal pollution is excess heat that creates undesirable effects over long periods of time.

Proliferation of dense Concrete Jungles due to Urban Sprawl is a major cause of Thermal Pollution in cities.

It is also caused by Heat Emitting Devices like Air Conditioners, Gensets, Electrical and Electronic Devices, Power and Refrigeration Plants and Air Pollution Particulates that trap heat and Deforestation.

7. LIGHT POLLUTION

Light pollution is garish over-illumination of an area that is considered obtrusive.

Here too you must consider the futuristic situation too and see what is coming up around the property in the future as the area develops.

9. VISUAL POLLUTION

Visual Pollution includes various “eyesores” and undesirable, unattractive views which spoil the landscape.

Visual Pollution affects the aesthetic value of a place and degrades the quality of life in certain areas.

In the premium high-end segment where home buyers pay for aesthetics, visual pollution can impact property values.

Sources of visual pollution include anything obstructing or spoiling the view from your house like neighbouring constructions and buildings, debris, neglected and incomplete structures and abandoned buildings, advertisement hoardings, power lines and mobile towers, filthy environs and repelling surrounding areas and any such other “eyesores”.

While visual pollution may not have immediate health or environmental effects, it can affect your mood due the constant eyesores around you.

After all, everyone wants a “room with a view”.

The Pollution Point of View Home Buying Mantra

IT IS BETTER TO BUY A READY TO MOVE IN HOUSE IN A FULLY COMPLETED PROJECT

From the pollution point of view it is always better to buy a ready-to-move-in house in a fully completed project in a built-up locality where all buildings and infrastructure are completed and ready.

Let me exemplify the above point and also tell you a bit about the various types of pollution with the help of a apocryphal hypothetical illustrative example.

“A” booked a house in a pre-launch scheme, even before construction had started.

He did this because he thought was getting the property at a lower rate.

Of course, he suffered time and cost overruns due to execution delays.

That is why they say that if you are an end-user who intends living in the house it is always better to “buy” rather than “book”.

(Booking a house in pre-launch or under-construction stage may be a good idea if you are an investor looking only for appreciation. You are never going to live in the house and you may even sell off the house before it is completed if you get the profit you desire. So you won’t be bothered with factors like Pollution unless this affects the property price or rental value)

When “A” booked the house the site was pristine tranquil quiet unpolluted place with pure air and a beautiful view and verdant cultivated fields all around. It was a perfect retirement paradise not far away and quite well connected to the city.

The project was delayed due to execution delays.

Since his retirement date was fast approaching, “A” was desperate to move into his house so he took possession and moved into his new home the moment his flat was ready (luckily his flat was in the first building of the project).

He moved into his flat while construction work continued full swing in the neighbouring buildings of the project due to which he suffered air pollution due the dust and debris and noise pollution due the noisy construction machinery.

(“A” suffered asthmatic attacks and was driven crazy by the constant irritating noise which caused him mood swings).

The municipal water line had not yet been connected (since the project was not fully complete) so water was temporarily sourced from a borewell due to which “A” was subjected to water pollution and soil pollution.

(“A” got a bout of jaundice due to this and his health was affected quite badly for a few months)

A Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) was soon commissioned under his flat and poor “A” was engulfed in the foul smelling stink 24/7 (Olfactory Pollution)

(“A” felt claustrophobic as he had to keep his windows closed because of this terrible stink – despite this the foul odour from the STP was all pervading)

In due course, a mobile antenna tower cropped up in the adjacent plot opposite his balcony. “A” was thus subjected to Electropollution and also to Visual Pollution since the tower was an eyesore which spoilt the beautiful view.

Later, the place would turn into a dense concrete jungle (thermal pollution).

All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

NB:

No part of this Blog may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Blog Author Vikram Karve who holds the copyright.

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer and blogger. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and an anthology of short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional and academic research papers in journals and edited in-house journals and magazines for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

About Me

A creative person with a zest for
life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated
at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School
Pune, Vikram has published two books:COCKTAILa collection of fiction short stories about relationships
(2011) andAPPETITE FOR A STROLLa
book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel, writing short fiction and compiling his memoirs. An avid
blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative
non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, books, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories, self help and art of living essays in magazines and journals and published a number of professional research papers and reviews and edited in-house magazines and journals for many years, before the advent
of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to
creative writing and blogging. Vikram Karve lives in Pune India with his family and muse -
his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative
thoughts.